12 Italian bishops to lead or attend pro-LGBT vigils, national synod doc referenced in support
The number of Italian Catholic bishops participating in prayer vigils, organized against so-called “homophobia,” has more than doubled compared to 2025, according to data published on May 8 by Italian outlet La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana. The events are often taking place inside Catholic churches and with support from dioceses or Catholic associations.
READ: Pope meets Cardinal Marx amid controversy over ‘blessings’ for ‘couples of all gender identities’
Italian LGBT lobby “La Tenda di Gionata” listed 47 vigils and related events. Twelve bishops are either presiding over or publicly attending them, compared to five bishops the previous year. The vigils are commonly described as initiatives “for overcoming homo-trans-bi-phobia.”
Among the prelates already confirmed are Bishop Enrico Solmi of Parma, who presided over a May 5 prayer vigil; Bishop Antonio Napolioni of Cremona, scheduled to lead a vigil on May 8; Archbishop Gherardo Gambelli of Florence, who is expected to preside over a diocesan vigil on May 21; and Bishop Andrea Andreozzi of Fano together with Archbishop Sandro Salvucci of Pesaro, both participating in a May 29 event.
Seven bishops are participating for the first time compared to 2025, including Bishop Antonio Cipolla of Padua, Bishop Nicolò Anselmi of Rimini, Archbishop Erio Castellucci of Modena, Bishop Gero Marino of Savona, Bishop Domenico Pompili of Verona, Archbishop Giuseppe Satriano of Bari-Bitonto, and Bishop Livio Corazza of Forlì.
“The vigils are a concrete expression of faith to break the wall of silence and indifference,” the Archdiocese of Bari-Bitonto stated in an announcement published ahead of its May 11 prayer service at the Church of San Francesco d’Assisi in Bari.
The Archdiocese of Bari said also that the initiative was organized by a newly established “Diocesan Coordination for an Inclusive Pastoral Ministry,” together with Christian associations from different denominations, bringing an ecumenical dimension to the event.
The same announcement highlighted that the vigils began in Florence in 2007 within a local pro-LGBT Christian group and later expanded internationally among Christians of different denominations.
In addition to the dioceses whose bishops are directly participating, at least 11 other dioceses are involved in organizing, sponsoring, or supporting similar events, according to La Tenda di Gionata listings. These include Como, Milan, Bologna, Bergamo, Catania, Bolzano, and Albano Laziale.
In particular, the Diocese of Como referenced the synthesis document of the Italian Synodal Path as support for its involvement.
Indeed, the so‑called synodal document published on October 24, 2025, “Leaven of Peace and Hope,” effectively served as a trailblazer within the Italian Church for this kind of development. Among the proposals contained in that text – from a permanent working group within the Italian Bishops’ Conference on the role of women and support for theological research on the female diaconate, to yet another liturgical reform, and large‑scale restructuring of parishes and diocesan institutions – is the full adoption of LGBT terminology (“same‑sex affection,” “transgender”) and a call to support civil observances against so‑called homophobia and transphobia.
The document also recommended establishing inter‑diocesan teams tasked with developing educational programs on sexuality and gender identity aimed at minors.
The text also referred officially to the “recognition” of homosexual and transgender persons, thus anticipating the recent Synod Study Group No. 9 Report published by the Vatican according to which “sin, at its root, does not consist in the [same-sex] couple relationship.”
The developments in Italy come amid wider debate within the Catholic Church regarding pastoral approaches toward homosexual relationships and same-sex blessings. On May 7, Pope Leo XIV received Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising in a private audience at the Vatican. The meeting followed recent controversy surrounding guidelines introduced in the German archdiocese permitting formal blessings for couples “of all gender identities and sexual orientations.”
On May 6, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, confirmed that the Vatican had previously rejected formal German guidelines for blessings of homosexual and other “irregular unions” because they conflicted with the 2023 Vatican declaration Fiducia Supplicans. Fernández stated that the Vatican objected to any blessing that could appear to legitimize unions outside sacramental marriage, while maintaining that spontaneous and non-liturgical blessings remained permitted under the document.
The debate has continued since the publication of Fiducia Supplicans in December 2023. Several senior prelates, in particular bishops and cardinals from Africa and Asia (many of whom are progressive), have publicly criticized the document, stating that the proposal of blessings for “irregular unions” is “contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church” and warned that it could create doctrinal confusion among the faithful."
End of very disturbing article...
Pray for the defeat of these modernist monsters -- and for their conversion!
Viva Cristo Rey! Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun, and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...
St. Joseph, pray for us!!
Gene DeLalla
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment.